Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava today said the company is making efforts to ease demand-supply mismatch and will make available cars for sale from the first phase of the new manufacturing facility in Gujarat by February 2017.Sharmistha Mukherjee | ETAuto | September 08, 2016, 11:17 IST

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava today said the company is making efforts to ease demand-supply mismatch and will make available cars for sale from the first phase of the new manufacturing facility in Gujarat by February 2017.

Addressing shareholders in the company's 35th AGM, Bhargava said, "Two new products - Baleno and Brezza - were introduced during the year (2015-16) and the response was far ahead of our expectations. It is not good for the company if we continue to be in a situation where products are short of supply. We have to create capacity so that this kind of mismatch doesn't happen to this extent in the future."

Bhargava added that the company has made strong in-roads in the premium segment with products such as the Ciaz and the only thing which is holding Maruti Suzuki from moving faster is capacity constraints at its plants.

Bhargava said that with all the initiatives taken over the course of the last three years, the company is well on track to achieve its target of selling two million vehicles by 2020. "This target is fully achievable with the initiatives taken by the company. Expansion of production is required, the Gujarat project is on track and cars from the first line will be available for sale by February 2017", Bhargava informed.

Exports too will play a larger role in ten growth being targeted by the company over the next four years. Bhargava said, "Baleno has increased our ability to sell cars in Europe and Japan. Exports will play an increasing role as we go forward." Sales of Maruti Suzuki increased by 11.5% in the domestic market to about 1.3 million units. Exports grew marginally by 1.8%.

The company expects to grow in double digits in the current financial year on account of good monsoons, the GST being passed by the Parliament and payout made by the Pay Commission.

Bhargava said that one big challenge the industry has faced recently has been from the environmental lobby. The auto industry too in concerned about air pollution, he said, but western remedies cannot be applied to problems in India. "The health problems which we face are those caused by particulate matters of 2.5 and lower and not NOX. The solutions being suggested will not deliver the results we want. All the restrictions placed on vehicles will certainly affect the industry but not lead to results we want. With government support hopefully it will be tackled in a much more logical fashion",Bhargava said.